The present invention relates generally to graphical displays and in particular to a method of displaying layered information using xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d interfaces.
A typical problem in interface design is to convey to the user the existence of a secondary level of information or functionality beyond that currently presented on a screen. For example, a top level menu displayed on command by the user allows for selection of particular functions that are provided in more detail on lower level menus presented independently from the top level menu. To notify the user of these additional menu choices, buttons or menu items variously labeled with text, icons, arrows or with the presence of scroll bars are used. Because screen real estate is generally at a premium, there is often more pertinent content than can be displayed at any given time.
Some current ways of indicating to the viewer the availability of additional content, beyond that which is presently displayed include: 1) an ellipsis ( . . . ) following a word or phrase, 2) arrows pointing past the boundary of a cell or window, 3) a xe2x80x9cmorexe2x80x9d button, 4) a cascade of overlapping windows, and 5) the presence of scroll bars. All five current methods of indicating to the viewer the availability of additional content, beyond that which is presently displayed, are useful to indicate some general continuation of a list, line of text or document, etc.
Although some of these solutions may use icons to represent the type of content available, none use an actual part of the field to represent the additional information. If an actual part of the secondary field were viewed as part of the foregrounded field, the viewer would unmistakenly realize that additional, usually complementary information is available besides that which is currently displayed.
Therefore, there is a need to convey to the user the existence of a secondary information or functionality along with the nature of that information or functionality. Specifically, there is a need to display an easily recognizable portion of the secondary field to represent additional menu choices available to the user.
The above mentioned shortcomings as well as other problems are addressed by the present invention which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification. The invention describes a computerized system for presenting a secondary level of information to a viewer while maximizing limited screen space.
In one embodiment of the invention, the computerized system comprises a processor, a computer-readable medium, a display device, and an application program. The application program is executed by the processor from the computer-readable medium, wherein the program provides a primary view over the display device and a xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view slidably positioned over the primary view on the display device. The xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view is slidably positioned over the primary view by a pointing device, such as a mouse.
In another embodiment, an information handling system comprises a display device, and a graphical user interface such that the graphical user interface is configured for viewing on the display device a primary view and a xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view. A portion of the contents of the xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view are displayed concurrently with the contents of the primary view such that the primary view occupies a greater portion of the display device than the xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view. The contents of the xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view is slidably positioned over the contents of the primary view by a pointing device. This causes the xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d view to occupy a greater portion of the display device than the primary view.
The invention allows the display of graphical information using a xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d interface that is an analogy of a real-world lenticular display. With a lenticular-like interface, the viewer is made aware that secondary information, usually complementary in nature, is available besides that which is currently foregrounded in the display. This invention is particularly beneficial wherever interactive content is displayed on a screen and where screen real estate is at a premium.
Conceptually, one embodiment of the invention is concerned with two fields of information, just as a real-world lenticular display may be concerned with the display of two distinct images. In this embodiment of the invention, one field is primary (or the default view), and the other field is secondary. And, just as in a real-world lenticular display the xe2x80x9clenticularxe2x80x9d (lens) may mediate between the display of two images, in this embodiment of the present invention a computer implemented analogy of a real-world xe2x80x9clenticularxe2x80x9d mediates between the two fields of information. The xe2x80x9clenticularxe2x80x9d of this embodiment is thus not a part of either field, but rather is a software construct relating these two fields to each other. Both fields will exhibit xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d artifacts in their construction, although it requires the conjunction of the two xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d fields to create the effect.
Utilization of a xe2x80x9clenticular likexe2x80x9d interface allows the viewer to be made aware that additional, usually complementary information is available besides that which is currently foregrounded in a display. This is accomplished by displaying a small but characteristic portion of the actual secondary field. Another way to accomplish the present invention is to make the dominant field look like a lenticular lens, which suggests to the user that a slight shift in view will bring the secondary field to the foreground. With a xe2x80x9clenticular-likexe2x80x9d interface, this shift is accomplished by moving the cursor from one edge of the display field to the other edge. In different embodiments of the invention, computers, computerized systems and computer-readable media of varying scope are described. Still other and further embodiments, aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by reading the following detailed description.